The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam in money laundering case, this days after ₹35 crore was recovered from the house of his personal secretary’s domestic help.
Alam was arrested after being questioned by the central agency in connection with the cash seizure. “I was called today as well and so I have come,” the state rural development minister had told reporters before entering the ED office. He was interrogated by the ED for about 10 hours on Tuesday.
The Congress leader was summoned by the ED to appear at its zonal office in Ranchi to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The money laundering investigation pertains to alleged irregularities in the state’s rural development department.
Sanjeev Lal and his house help Jahangir Alam were arrested by the ED on Tuesday, a day after ₹35.23 crore were seized from them.
Both Sanjiv Lal, PS to Alam, and his domestic help, Jahangir Alam, were arrested by the ED after the raids and subsequent recovery of ₹35.23 crore in cash from their premises in Jharkhand’s Ranchi.
At least seven teams of the agency had started the raids at 6 am on Monday morning. According to the ED officials, the recoveries were largely made from the house of Jahangir Alam near Ranchi hill.
The searches continued into the evening, and multiple cash counting machines had to be pressed into service.
“Elections are going on. ED is investigating the matter. Being the minister of the department, they can interrogate me. I do not want to say anything about this. People are understanding everything,” Alamgir Alam had told news agency ANI.
The ED said that the names of “senior bureaucrats and politicians” have emerged in the case and this was being investigated, PTI reported.
It had conducted searches at the rural development ministry in Ranchi too with Lal accompanying ED officials.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)